National Lampoon’s: Christmas Vacation: A Worthy Classic Comedy
In the film Christmas Vacation, there is a hilarious scene when Clark Griswold “played by Chevy Chase” and his family are out finding the perfect Christmas tree. They come across what Clark believes to be the family tree, but the family worries about the tree being too big. Clark reassures them that the tree isn’t big, it’s just full. Rusty worries about the tree not fitting anywhere, Clark tells Rusty the tree is not going to go anywhere but in Griswold’s living room. After all this time spent finding the perfect tree, a huge tree with the roots still attached is shown on top of the Griswold station wagon because Clark forgets to bring the saw. This scene paves the way for the …show more content…
Some comedy films that I’ve seen, that are disorganized, became great classic comedy films. Maslin claims that, "Christmas Vacation makes no pretense at being anything other than a disjointed collection of running gags; if it weren 't for a calendar that marks the approach of Christmas Day," she overlooks that the hilarious unexpected scenes could make up for the film not having any structure. Christmas Vacation could cut out the calendar countdown and still have the same funny effect due to the great way the film uses humor in the unexpected scenes, slapstick comedy, and characters to connect to each other in an unorthodox way. In LeDonne 's article, Lewis states, "It highlights the idiosyncrasies between family members,” in a scene Beverly is talking to Clark in bed and voices her concerns about her mother making fun of Clark’s mother buying cheap hot dogs. She also says that Clark’s mother accuses Beverly’s mom of waxing her upper lip, becomes a true rendition of the bizarre traits between the family members that the audience witness in Christmas Vacation. Lewis also states “You can call be totally different and oddballs, but everyone tries to make a go of it during the holiday season," he explains some of the scenes give families the okay to feel indifferent about the craziness of the holidays. However, the …show more content…
Slapstick comedy has been around for ages; it adds a way of grabbing the audience’s attention, but some critics may say that it can lead to unoriginal comedy. Maslin states," Chevy Chase finds a good way to hurt himself, the board that whacks him in the chin is liable to strike again," this being one of the funniest slapstick scenes in the film. When Clark Griswold scurries to get help from his family, who don’t seem to hear Clark yelling. Clark steps on a loose board, hitting himself in the face several times before finally reaching the window. He is already too late to get help. Later, the film follows the attic scene with the sled scene, in which Clark uses oil to make the sled go faster in an explosive ride ending in Clark slamming into a Walmart mailbox. Maslin prepares the audience by saying, "floors will collapse, ladders fall, Christmas trees come hurtling through windows," preparing the viewer for several unique slapstick comedy scenes to come. A hilarious scene where Clark is up on a ladder ready to put the Christmas lights on the house, when he looks down and notices that he is on the wrong side of the ladder. The ladder collapses and we see an awkward Clark looking around to make sure no one saw what just happened to him. This scene added slapstick humor, knowing how embarrassing it can be when someone witnesses you not using an object or tool correctly. When Maslin says
In the film Christmas Vacation, there is a hilarious scene when Clark Griswold “played by Chevy Chase” and his family are out finding the perfect Christmas tree. They come across what Clark believes to be the family tree, but the family worries about the tree being too big. Clark reassures them that the tree isn’t big, it’s just full. Rusty worries about the tree not fitting anywhere, Clark tells Rusty the tree is not going to go anywhere but in Griswold’s living room. After all this time spent finding the perfect tree, a huge tree with the roots still attached is shown on top of the Griswold station wagon because Clark forgets to bring the saw. This scene paves the way for the …show more content…
Some comedy films that I’ve seen, that are disorganized, became great classic comedy films. Maslin claims that, "Christmas Vacation makes no pretense at being anything other than a disjointed collection of running gags; if it weren 't for a calendar that marks the approach of Christmas Day," she overlooks that the hilarious unexpected scenes could make up for the film not having any structure. Christmas Vacation could cut out the calendar countdown and still have the same funny effect due to the great way the film uses humor in the unexpected scenes, slapstick comedy, and characters to connect to each other in an unorthodox way. In LeDonne 's article, Lewis states, "It highlights the idiosyncrasies between family members,” in a scene Beverly is talking to Clark in bed and voices her concerns about her mother making fun of Clark’s mother buying cheap hot dogs. She also says that Clark’s mother accuses Beverly’s mom of waxing her upper lip, becomes a true rendition of the bizarre traits between the family members that the audience witness in Christmas Vacation. Lewis also states “You can call be totally different and oddballs, but everyone tries to make a go of it during the holiday season," he explains some of the scenes give families the okay to feel indifferent about the craziness of the holidays. However, the …show more content…
Slapstick comedy has been around for ages; it adds a way of grabbing the audience’s attention, but some critics may say that it can lead to unoriginal comedy. Maslin states," Chevy Chase finds a good way to hurt himself, the board that whacks him in the chin is liable to strike again," this being one of the funniest slapstick scenes in the film. When Clark Griswold scurries to get help from his family, who don’t seem to hear Clark yelling. Clark steps on a loose board, hitting himself in the face several times before finally reaching the window. He is already too late to get help. Later, the film follows the attic scene with the sled scene, in which Clark uses oil to make the sled go faster in an explosive ride ending in Clark slamming into a Walmart mailbox. Maslin prepares the audience by saying, "floors will collapse, ladders fall, Christmas trees come hurtling through windows," preparing the viewer for several unique slapstick comedy scenes to come. A hilarious scene where Clark is up on a ladder ready to put the Christmas lights on the house, when he looks down and notices that he is on the wrong side of the ladder. The ladder collapses and we see an awkward Clark looking around to make sure no one saw what just happened to him. This scene added slapstick humor, knowing how embarrassing it can be when someone witnesses you not using an object or tool correctly. When Maslin says